House Bar Emmon
House Bar Emmon of Sharp Point is a noble house from Sharp Point in the Crownlands. They are sworn to Dragonstone, and keep a watchtower and lighthouse - called the Torch - upon the northern edge of their lands, overlooking the Gullet. Their blazon is a leaping blue swordfish on fretty silver on white. Their words are "Ever armed, ever ready". ''Members of this family tend to be dark of hair and light of eye, and of fairly average height. Some say a small degree of madness ruins through the line as well, though this has not shown itself for nearly two hundred years. The head of House Bar Emmon have passed down a necklace from the days of Togarion the Terrible, which bears upon it a relic they call Togarion's Tooth. A canine or claw from some unknown beast in Andalos, it is entirely ceremonial. History Founding Togarion Bar Emmon, whom men called the Terrible, was an Andal warlord that crossed the Narrow Sea and established himself north of the Blackwater Rush. He was driven from his lands by the Darklyns of Duskendale, sparking an enmity that ran until the extinction of the Darklyns following the Defiance of Duskendale. Togarion married the daughter of King Josua Massey of Stonedance, and the Bar Emmons abandoned the Blackwater for Massey's Hook. Together the Masseys and Bar Emmons fought against the Durrandon Kings of Storm's End, though they were eventually defeated and forced to swear fealty. Targaryen Era In the War of Conquest, the Bar Emmons were one of the Crownlords who bore closer ties to Dragonstone than to their nominal lieges, and so aided Aegon the Dragon in his conquest of Westeros. As the years passed, the power of the Bar Emmons began to diminish, as the much more important ports of Dragonstone and the newly built King's Landing took up much of the trade and profits. The fleet of the Storm Kings, once quartered in Massey's Hook, was pulled back to the Stormlands, the Hook no longer sworn to Storm's End. The Bar Emmons slowly lost much of their wealth, influence, and strength, though better days were never forgotten. During the Dance of Dragons, Lord Lymond the Lecher, Lord of Sharp Point, was a member of Rhaenyra's Black Council. His lust for the Half Year Queen was widely known, though he would later betray her, keeping his knowledge of Aegon's refuge in Dragonstone a secret. When the call came from King's Landing during Robert's Rebellion, House Bar Emmon raised it's banners and fought for King Aerys II. Lord Argos Bar Emmon was slain in the Battle of the Bells, leaving his brother, Victor, as Lord of Sharp Point. Baratheon Era Lord Victor's son, Duram, would rule Sharp Point by the end of Robert's Reign - a fat and feeble boy of some fourteen years of age, most thought him fairly soft. Never one for valor or bravery, Duram kept House Bar Emmon out of the large majority of the fighting. Later, during the War of Repayment, the now gargantuan lord would turn tail with his navy and flee before the Battle of the Gullet, earning him the mocking nickname of Durram "the Daring". Boremund was nothing like his father; he was a hard man, a brawler and a drinker and a sailor born. He raised his children to be more like him than their grandfather, and held up Togarion the Terrible as a prime of example of what it means to be a Bar Emmon. The Bar Emmons of Sharp Point would fight nobly in the War of the Exile, helping to undo much of the damage to their name caused by Duram the Daring. Members of the Family Current Members * Lord {Boremund Bar Emmon}, Her Father (d. 369AC) * Lady {Maia Rambton}, Her Mother (d. 362AC) ** Lord 'Duram Bar Emmon' (23) ** Raella Bar Emmon (19) ** {Togarion Bar Emmon} (d. 370) Distant Relations * Arianne Bar Emmon - a fighter, skilled with wielding a blade in either hand and known for her dry and sometimes blunt sense of humour. Currently leading the detachment of Bar Emmon soldiers that accompany Leonetta Hill. * Arrec Bar Emmon - similar to his young sister, Arrec is a deft hand with a blade, though he does not often wield one. His mind tends to find far more use than his sword. * Naerys Bar Emmon - a large woman, known for dominating Sharp Point after the death of Maia Rambton. A powerful maternal force, often organizing and running much of the castle and its holdings. * Casper Bar Emmon - a wiry man, bright eyed and clever, skilled with ships and a blade. He was close to the Bar Emmon children as a child, but was sent to foster with his mother's family later in life. * Royce Bar Emmon - a knight and a warrior, possessed of great strength. Fairly quiet, and not fond of his distant cousin, Duram. Past Members * 'Victaria "the Vile" or "the Vicious"' - A cruel woman by all accounts, who made much coin salvaging what she could from wrecks upon the shore, often caused when she would order the watchtower's fire darkened. She would bring the survivors from these wreckages up to Sharp Point; giving rise to rumours that she was performing vile experiments on them. Perished in a fierce explosion in Maidenshall, leading to the tower being sealed off. * 'Boros Bar Emmon' - A famed warrior from the early days of the Iron Throne, who sought the hand of Princess Rhalla Targaryen. * 'Duram "the 'Daring'" - Lived during the War of the Five Kings, and grew to be a fat, boistrous, black-bearded man. Earned his mocking nickname when he fled from the Battle of the Gullet during the War of Repayment. Rarely left Sharp Point thereafter, roaming the halls muttering curses at the lords who mocked him. * ''Woeful Wex, Wex "the Watcher", "The Watchtower Lord"'' - According to the stories, Wex was a fine man, fair of feature and easy to laughter, kind and wise and clever. Then, upon one dreadful night, his young wife and newborn son were lost at sea, their ship crashing against the rocks below the Torch - it's watchman fast asleep, it's light gone out. Wex, thereafter, was a broken man, and lived in the Tower as the Keeper of the Torch for years. He would also take his revenge upon the previous Keeper, burying him up to his neck in sand by the shoreline, well within view of the lighthouse, that he might watch the man struggle. His brother succeeded him to the lordship upon his death. * ''Everild the Elegant - A famed beauty in her youth, she grew to be a wise and formidable woman, and reigned for nigh on seventy years. She bore eight living sons and three living daughters, all of whom became great in their own right: ** ''Serwyn the Swordfish -'' a skilled warrior ** ''Perwyn the Pike -'' his rival and twin brother ** '''''Titus Bar Emmon - who would go on to become an Archmaester ** Mallador the Brave - an adventurer and sellsail who would travel beyond Asshai and never return ** Josian Bar Emmon - who would sit the Small Council ** Galladon Bar Emmon - a merchant, who turned back from Asshai with gold, rather than glory, as his brother Mallador sailed onward. ** Cedric Bar Emmon - who served as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch ** Daryn Bar Emmon - a famed womanizer and debauch who was slain by the first sword of Braavos ** Marya the Maiden - an able administrator that brought peace and plenty to Sharp Point during her mother's rule ** Rhae Bar Emmon - who married a Triarch of Volantis ** Perrianne the Pearl - who once sang for the King on the Iron Throne, and was said to have a voice like silver The Bar Emmon Fleet The 'fleet' at Sharp Point is small, and hardly deserving of the name. Though once far more powerful, acting as the naval base for the Storm Kings to the south, the Houses of Massey's Point saw their strength wane after the coming of the Targaryen Kings - and none more so than House Bar Emmon, with its proximity to Driftmark. Now, all that remain are; * The Swordfish - Once captained by the famous Serwyn the Swordfish, son of Everild the Elegant, it is currently the personal ship of Duram Bar Emmon, and both larger and faster than the other ship in their navy, the t''he Amberglass''. * The Amberglass - The vessel that once belonged to Ser Galladon Bar Emmon, who once sailed as far as Asshai, though he turned back while his brother, Mallador, did not. Its a smaller ship, but maneuverable and dependable, with hardened sides to defend against ramming. Togarion's Tooth Togarion's Tooth is an ancient Bar Emmon relic, brought over by Togarion the Terrible in the early days of the Andal Invasions, some two to four thousand years ago. it has been passed father to son since. Most maesters agree that Togarion's tooth is probably a claw - most likely one from a hrakkar of the Dothraki plains, gifted to Togarion while he still lived in Andalos. Over time a great deal of mythos has built up around it, however, and most Bar Emmons believe in the relic's abilities to inspire good fortune. As the claw itself was in danger of wearing away over time, one Bar Emmon in ages past had the forethought to encase the remaining tooth in gold, preserving it for future generations. Since then it has been handed down from ruling lord to ruling lord, and seen both great triumphs and terrible defeats. Sometimes it is handed from the Lord of Sharp Point to a second or third son - its usually determined by who needs it most, though upon the death of the Lord it is returned to his son and heir. One of the most famous examples of the power of the Tooth is from the days of Lady Victaria the Vile, who refused to wear the relic, passing it off on her nephew, and was killed in an explosion inside of her private tower in Sharp Point. The shockwave did great damage to the surrounding castle, including knocking loose a cascade of tower stones that nearly crushed Aemon Bar Emmon, Lady Victaria's nephew. Instead the stones fell to either side of him, when he should have been crushed - and he inherited the title Lord of Bar Emmon from his aunt. The previous Lord of Sharp Point, Boremund Bar Emmon, also refused to wear the necklace, stating that it was 'simple-minded foolery for the weak and the craven.' Upon his death at the hands of smugglers in 369AC, his son, Duram, found and took up the relic. Category:House Bar Emmon Category:Crownlands